e-textbook-college

New technology offers flat-rate for textbooks


New tech-based model offers students low flat-rate with more than 50 percent savings for full year of materials 

textbooks-campus-technologyWith the spiraling cost of course materials burdening both students and schools, Rafter, a course materials management company, yesterday announced Rafter360™ –a new tech-based solution that enables a textbooks-in-tuition model for any campus.

After students register for their courses, they are automatically provided 100 percent of their required materials for day one of class, ultimately saving them money, says the company. Two colleges currently using Rafter360, Thomas More College in Kentucky and Schreiner University of Texas, have already reported students saving 55 percent and 54 percent respectively on the costs of textbooks.

Rafter, previously known as BookRenter, is an established course materials management company that says has helped over 2 million students save more than $525 million on textbooks. Building on its course materials experience and long-term relationships with hundreds of colleges and suppliers, Rafter said it set out to redesign and transform the entire process of course materials management for students, campuses and faculty.

Rafter360

“It was clear there needed to be a better way to take control over the skyrocketing costs of textbooks and make sure that students have the content and materials they need to be successful,” said Sara Leoni, CEO of Rafter. “With Rafter360, we changed the game by designing the program to fully automate the course materials process. We looked painstakingly at every angle to make sure our solution would benefit all stakeholders – students, faculty, and campuses – with greatly reduced costs for students, freedom of choice for faculty when choosing course materials, and ease-of-use for administration and staff.

(Next page: How student savings works; benefits for the campus; pricing)

Student Savings

For students, Rafter360 offers a flat rate price that has the potential to save them over 50 percent of traditional costs. This reduced fee is factored directly into their tuition, making course materials a predictable and budgeted expense, notes the company.

Studies show that textbooks and supplies cost approximately $1,200 a year and some 65 percent of students have decided to not buy a textbook due to expense.

Rafterimage3

With Rafter360, once a student is registered for their courses, professors adopt materials (in print or digital format) and the system then manages the process “seamlessly behind the scenes,” explains the company. “All students need to do is pick up their package of materials waiting for them at the campus bookstore or the campus can opt to have the entire order sent to students’ homes. Students log in to the system to start using any digital materials.  Based on a library model, when the academic session is over, students return the textbooks to the campus store and keep or recycle used workbooks and trade materials.”

Potential campus benefits

By adopting Rafter360, the company aims to help colleges differentiate themselves as student advocates and technology innovators, as well as create a path to the future as instructional materials evolve from print textbooks into digital experiences.

According to Bill Muse, VP of Administration and Finance at Schreiner University, “For Schreiner to get on the leading edge like we have by offering a books-in-tuition solution, it was really critical that we were able to partner with a provider like Rafter. We could not have done this on our own. Students love the convenience and the level of service in the bookstore. It’s a win-win and we are delighted.”

Pricing and availability

Rafter360 is now available by contacting Brian Bates at 650.393.8698 or emailing rafter360@rafter.com. The price is individualized per school based on a proprietary algorithm that takes into account each school’s unique historical textbook adoption and course enrollment data.

More information about Rafter360 can be found at www.rafter.com/our-solutions/rafter360/

Material from a press release was used in this report.

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